Students wishing to teach elementary school typically major in education and take college classes that focus on teaching, such as literature for children, teaching with writing, foundations of education, educational psychology, technology for teachers, and methods courses in a variety of subjects, such as art, science and communications. Courses also include field experience credits. Education majors often choose a concentration area such as math or social studies and take more courses in that area, but some schools offer interdisciplinary programs as well.
Secondary school prospective teachers typically choose a major and take additional teaching courses both within that major and on more general subjects. Common majors for secondary instructors include chemistry, English, liberal arts, math, psychology, music and physical education. Besides the heavy number of classes in the major, students take teaching courses much like those for elementary school teacher preparation, including methods of instruction in the major, educational psychology, working with exceptional students, and observation.
Vocational instructors in public schools need to hold teaching licenses, but some may follow alternative routes to gaining that license. Vocational teaching jobs almost always require a bachelor's degree, but work experience may sometimes substitute for the teacher education courses and even the college degree. Students wishing to create the most job opportunities for themselves, however, should obtain the bachelor's degree in their major or the closest possible field, taking a wide variety of courses within the major.
College and university instructors need to hold at least a bachelor's degree in their major. Most institutions looks for candidates with a variety of courses within the major field, and specialization rather than education courses, such as a chemistry major with several levels of organic chemistry. Most postsecondary teachers must hold master's degrees or PhDs, which include more in-depth courses in the major. English majors, for example, might take period-specific literature classes. Graduate-level students usually take courses leading toward a thesis or dissertation.